Bill Nye the Science Guy was pretty rad when I was 12. And it’s pretty rad now too. In this clip, from an episode about the brain, Jerry Andress demonstrates the mind-trickery of various illusions. Perhaps I’m just an easy audience, but the last part of the clip managed to get a (somewhat embarrassing) "Oooooo" out of me. It’s pretty spiffy. Hopefully, you’ll be just as entertained — or at least enjoy a nice, nostalgic trip back to the days when watching an egg get sucked into a pop bottle was the absolute height of amazingness.
Archive: March 2009 (21-30 of 518)
Mar 31
2009
12:00 PM ET
Mar 31
2009
11:41 AM ET
'Cupid' stars Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson take the EW Pop Culture Personality Test
On the reboot of Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas’ Cupid (premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET on ABC), Bobby Cannavale (Will & Grace) plays Trevor Pierce, a man who insists he’s the God of Love, banished to Manhattan to bring 100 couples together before being allowed to return to Mount Olympus. Sarah Paulson (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) is Dr. Claire McCrae, the psychiatrist and self-help author who’ll treat him at her singles group therapy sessions. They’ve got chemistry on the show, and, as we found out, on conference calls.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The first moment you knew you had chemistry?
BOBBY CANNAVALE: As soon as Jenna Elfman turned down the part.
SARAH PAULSON: The night we had sex. I’m just kidding. That never happened.
CANNAVALE: We’re in bed right now. Your feet are sweaty.
PAULSON: Stop! I made the mistake of telling him that my feet get sweaty when I’m nervous, and now I can’t live it down…. [To EW] You’re like, Wow, I don’t really know where to go with that.
Let’s move on to the Pop Culture Personality Test portion of the interview. What is your position on karaoke?
CANNAVALE: [Voice goes up an octave] Ooooh! I love it! I love it! I love it!
PAULSON: You’ve hit the jackpot over here, man.
In our recent Paul Rudd cover story, Bobby, he mentions that you’re one of his karaoke buddies.
CANNAVALE: Yeah, man. We ‘raoke a lot. I love to ‘raoke.
PAULSON: Do you hear that? Do you hear that? They call it ‘raoke.
CANNAVALE: I got Sarah into it, didn’t I, Sarah?
PAULSON: You did get me into it.
CANNAVALE: Here’s the thing about ‘raoking with me, man. I live in New York, and I’m never in L.A., but when I do go to L.A., I could be in L.A. for 36 hours — right, Sarah? — and I can put together 20 people, boom!, in a room.
PAULSON: And we did.
CANNAVALE: We’re serious though. I mean, I call people who like to sing. [Paulson talks over him: My turn. My turn. My turn. My turn.] I don’t call people who like to come drink and sing "American Pie." Shut it. I’m talking. Yeah, I love to karaoke. Love it. Love it. But I don’t like singing at a bar. I like a private room.
PAULSON: Which is the only way I can do it because I’m a really bad singer. My sister’s a big karaoke person, and she’s never been able to get me to do it. But Bobby, because he has that kind of way –
CANNAVALE: Sarah does a mean Salt-N-Pepa though. You got to hear her do her Salt-N-Pepa.
What is each of your best songs?
PAULSON: I feel like mine is "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa.
CANNAVALE: You know what I’ve taken to singing lately — only because they just got it at the karaoke, and I find it’s a good warm up for me, believe it or not — Adele’s "Chasing Pavements."
PAULSON: That Adele is amazing. I’m obsessed with that Adele.
CANNAVALE: Adele’s "Chasing Pavements" is a good warm up for me. And then I go into –
PAULSON: The last thing I heard you do was "Yellow" by Coldplay.
CANNAVALE: "Yellow" warms me up for the Radiohead, because it gets my sort of falsetto warmed up –
PAULSON: Oh boy.
CANNAVALE: ‘Cause I have a pretty deep voice. My real go-to — like, if the pressure was on and I really had to shine, let’s say — would be a country song probably. Like, a Merle Haggard song or a George Jones song.
PAULSON: He won’t tell you this, but he’s very good at it.
CANNAVALE: Ah…
PAULSON: Ly-ing! Ly-ing! Ly-ing! [All laugh]
Mar 31
2009
10:00 AM ET
Quote of the Day: 'Almost Famous' band aid edition
”Can you believe these new girls? None of them use birth control and they eat all the steak!” — Sapphire (Fairuza Balk, center), about the new groupies band aids, in Almost Famous
Mar 31
2009
02:18 AM ET
Jackie Chan says 'Karate Kid' remake will be 'Kung Fu Kid' instead: We're outraged...
…in the way that we’re not outraged at all!
Let’s back up a bit. In January, EW reported that Jackie Chan was taking on the Mr. Miyagi-type role in the planned remake of the 1984 hit The Karate Kid, with Will Smith producing and his 10-year-old son Jaden Smith (The Day the Earth Stood Still) on board to wax on and wax off as the eponymous Karate Kid. Except, according to Chan in a recent interview with New Zealand outlet 3 News, the younger Smith will be known as The Kung Fu Kid instead.
A rep for Columbia Pictures tells EW that, in fact, the film’s title has yet to be decided — which is fine, since, either way, I’m not exactly sure what the big, swan-kicking deal is. From The Matrix to Kung Fu Panda, kung fu is certainly far more hip and now a martial art than that musty old karate your grandpa jabbers on about. Besides, the geekosphere consensus seems to be that naming the film Kung Fu Kid would keep the original Karate Kid unsullied by Hollywood’s crass campaign to besmirch every single beloved 1980s childhood touchstone…because that certainly never happened with The Karate Kid Part II, The Karate Kid Part III, or The Next Karate Kid, starring a pre-Beverly Hills 90210 Hilary Swank in the title role.
Of course, I am the same writer who got his knickers all be-twiddled over the plans to make another movie based on the board game Clue, so it’s not like I’m carrying loads of moral authority on keeping things in perspective. What do you think, P-Dubs? Is Kung Fu Kid a better title? Should they be remaking this movie at all? Or do you just feel kids of the 1980s have a seriously warped perspective on what made for "good" movies back in the days of Reagan, Rambo, and Howard the Duck?
Mar 30
2009
11:47 PM ET
The Streamy Awards: Three cheers for online TV!
The 1st Annual Streamy Awards were held last Saturday, honoring the best in original shows on the Internet, and they could be watched around the world — where else? — online! Aside from the baby award show’s adorable moniker, the Streamys proved yet again that you don’t have to be a household name to get recognition in cyberspace. While Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog pretty much swept the event, with seven wins (including the craft awards held two days earlier), lesser-known talent like the fresh faces of the hilarious college mockumentary Dorm Life and the Renaissance Faire comedy All’s Faire (which reminds me of the battle scene in Role Models but with more girls) at least earned themselves nominations for Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series. (You can see the complete list of winners here.)
While I voted my heart out for Dorm Life (which was nominated for Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series), sadly, I couldn’t beat Dr. Horrible‘s devoted fans. I strongly recommend you check out the very short, very funny first episode of Dorm Life (below). If you’ve ever imagined what The Office would be like if Dwight were in charge…and wore puka shells, you won’t be disappointed.
Anyway, I, for one, am thrilled that web TV continues to gain so much attention, and I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t be. As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Neil Patrick Harris, it’s awesome to see sci-fi mastermind Joss Whedon working on any screen, big or small. After all, a Joss Whedon masterpiece is a Joss Whedon masterpiece, no matter where it unspools. And for the rest of the world, if you’ve got an idea and some sort of video camera, clearly you don’t have to wait for a big network name to back you up anymore.
But what about you? What are some of your favorite online shows that you would like to see honored for distracting you, PopWatchers? And how great a name for a Web show is You Suck at Photoshop?
Mar 30
2009
10:46 PM ET
SoapNet: The Television for Women we've been waiting for?
I’ve long begrudged the state of just-for-the-ladies TV, where all of us are either trashy and superficial or, well, my mom. (Lifetime has perfected the art of the schmaltzy TV movie, no small feat — but this does not encompass the entirety of the female experience.) However, having spent a weekend glued to SoapNet, I’m pleased to say I think I might’ve found the closest thing we’ve got to TV for Smart Women Who Still Don’t Take Themselves Deadly Seriously. And that’s thanks to one show in particular, the Canadian import Being Erica.
It’s a dramedy that follows the existential crisis of 30-something Erica Strange (a ridiculously winning Erica Karpluk), who, thanks to an accident, gets one of those metaphysical kind of chances to go back and fix past regrets. It’s just familiar enough — the Sliding Doors-meets-Saving Grace setup, the harried-single-girl life — to suck you in, as it did with a three-episode run that I caught this weekend. But it’s also just different enough: She doesn’t change the space-time continuum a la Lost or Back to the Future, just purges herself of her darkest moments. She routinely makes major changes in her past (stopping her sister from reuniting with the lout she’d go on to marry, for instance) only to find herself back in a present that’s exactly the same. It’s oddly therapeutic, forcing you to think of what you’d go back and fix in your own life but also assuring you that even if you’d done it perfectly, you’d still be right where you are. Oh, and it’s also sexy (any woman would love a past, present, or future that involved the two swarthy love interests in her life), smart (the sendup of the publishing industry at her workplace is spot on), and funny.
That, plus reruns of Gilmore Girls and The O.C.? Get some old Men in Trees and The Ex List in there (plus Privileged, please, if it doesn’t survive on The CW), and we can call this Television for Cool Girls — and forget that this network has anything to do with All My Children and General Hospital. (Who am I to judge those, anyway?)
What do you think, PopWatchers? Have you checked out Being Erica? Will you? Please?
Mar 30
2009
10:25 PM ET
'American Idol' Power List: They're down to nine! Who's your favorite?
9. Scott MacIntyre: (Last week: No. 10) Scores more laughs per minute than any other contestant this season — those jokes about his pink pants last week killed, and we loved his "We can move it closer" quip when Paula insisted that his piano was separating him from the audience on Grand Ole Opry Night — but vocally, dude just doesn’t have the chops. Honestly, how many of you can remember what he’s sung the last three weeks without the help of a Google search?
8. Megan (Joy) (Corkrey): (Last week: No. 8) Kind of shocked Stevie Wonder didn’t loudly condemn her hate crime against "For Once in My Life" when he had the mic during last week’s results show. And unlike her wonky cover of "Walkin’ After Midnight," Megan couldn’t hide behind the specter of "influenza B." Needs to find a way to translate her perfectly fine rehearsal footage to the big Idol stage, or else, like a McDonald’s special deal, she’ll be with the show "for a limited time only."
7. Lil Rounds: (Last week: No. 7) The judges keep telling us she’s one of this season’s strongest singers, but her utterly flat take on "(Your Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and those imperfect verses on "Independence Day" seem to indicate otherwise. What’s more, her shocked, not entirely gracious response to constructive criticism could make her fans a little less enthusiastic about speed-dialing. Can’t survive on early hype alone for too much longer.
addCredit(“Michael Becker/Fox”)
Mar 30
2009
09:28 PM ET
'Greek': Five reasons the show gets an Alpha plus from me
After a far-too-long hiatus, Greek is coming back with new episodes tonight. And I couldn’t be more excited. It’s not just another teen show! Greek has a surprising mesh of earnestness and silliness, and has that rare element of actually seeming a little like college. Think Felicity and Undeclared, not 90210‘s college years. Don’t believe me? Here are five reasons I’m obsessed with Greek:
1. Cappie Probably the zing-iest character on TV, he’s the head of the slacker frat Kappa Tau. But he’s not a one-note party animal. His constant sarcasm belies a slightly softer side — "We’re all adults here, why don’t we say exactly what we’re thinking? How could they cancel Gilmore Girls?" — and he’s a surprisingly good role model in certain capacities. Seriously, though, it’s the lines like "You’re so nice and carefree and beach-babe beautiful — I feel like I’m in a tampon commercial" that keep me coming back. You know, for lines like "In your virgin mind, women are like these mythical creatures. Likeunicorns. With breasts! But let me tell you something: That’s a myth.Women are just normal people with breasts."
2. Spencer Grammer Casey Cartwright isn’t exactly Cher Horowitz or Elle Woods — but she’s not that far off, and Grammer’s performance is definitely up there with Alicia Silverstone’s and Reese Witherspoon’s. Perky but not deluded, Grammer provides Casey with the right combination of introspection/depth (how do I stick to what’s important to me?) and gentle ditziness (what’s important to me is the theme of this sorority dance).
3. Shenanigans Sometimes shows or movies set in college neglect how big a role goofing off plays in those precious four years when you basically have the mental faculties of an adult but none of the responsibilities or burdens of actual adulthood. All your mental energy goes to schemes! How will we make this the best party ever? What can I do to trick that person into liking me? What will our booth be at the carnival? Remember when you spent dedicated weeks of intellectual output on such matters? Ugh, college is the best.
4. Stakes What the characters do on Greek matters. There are social risks to their actions. When Rusty’s freshman girlfriend betrayed the Greeks, he broke up with her. The whole Frannie/Rebecca Logan/Casey power triangle of hatred and perfect hair is born of a combination of rivalry, sexual politics, and legitimate dislike for one another, and all those feelings have costs. Failure, betrayal, family, anxiety — everything gets internalized. Take note, Gossip Girl (where nothing ever matters and everything is water off a socialite’s umbrella’s duck ass or something).
5. Best friends! Nerdy, sincere Rusty is BFFs with his roommate, the devoutly Christian Dale (also hilarious), and they have a Rudd/Segel-caliber bromance. Still, there are some episodes where I prefer Casey and the sort of vapid but utterly ethical Ashleigh. I love a solid friendship plot.
Okay, PopWatch Nation, who’s pledging with me? What do you love about Greek?
Mar 30
2009
08:38 PM ET
Chris Kattan starring as himself in miniseries shooting in Mumbai: Crazy, cool, or CRAZY?
Chris Kattan is currently shooting a three-part comedy miniseries in Mumbai, India, called Bollywood Hero, which IFC will premiere this August. So you can properly answer the question, Crazy, cool, or CRAZY?, I will copy and paste the entire press release…
"Kattan, who plays himself in this otherwise fictional comedy, is tired of being rejected as leading-man material in Hollywood. He burns his professional bridges in L.A. and ventures to India in search of a starring role in a Bollywood film. While in India, he encounters cultural differences and the realization that making it big in Bollywood is not a sure thing.
"After a chance meeting with Indian born film maker Monty Reddy, Chris heads to Mumbai to take the lead role in Peculiar Dancing Boy, the last script by Bollywood legend and Monty’s deceased father, Anil Reddy. Fresh off the plane, Chris is flung into a world of sibling rivalry, power hungry starlets and their astrologers, and a film that is not quite fully financed.
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